Michelle Duggar miscarries her 20th child

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar after the birth of their 19th child born December 11, 2010

People magazine is reporting Michelle Duggar has miscarried in her second trimester. According to the story Michelle, 45, and her husband Jim Bob found out the news when a doctor could not find a heartbeat at a routine check-up. The couple were supposed to find out the sex of the child at that appointment. From the story:

“After the appointment, we came back home and told the children,” says Michelle, 45.

“We had just been talking about baby names last night and they were getting excited about naming a boy or a girl. It has been a real sad disappointment.”

She says the family will select a name after they know if the baby was a boy or girl, and then plan to have a funeral service.

The Duggars are the stars of the TLC show, 19 Kids and Counting. The show follows the life of the couple and their 19 children, all of whom have names starting with ‘J.’

Michelle previously suffered a miscarriage after taking birth control and says she then decided to let God decide how many children she will have.

Agreed….with 7 Billion people in this increasingly congested world, Lady it is time for you and your husband to start that College fund…………..just be sure and divide it 19 ways………..and don’t forget the braces !!!!!!

I am sorry for the loss of the unborn baby — perhaps the loss IS God’s message to The Duggars to stop!

To refrain from practicing birth control (albiet a natural method or a physician-prescribed pill) and leave it up to God is irresponsible. And living in the spotlight on a nationally-televised TV show enables them to send the wrong message to the viewing public. Their actions indirectly condone and encourage others who do not have equal financial means / resources to do the same. And then guess who winds up footing the bill — the taxpaying public. Does Octomom ring a bell?? Very similar, irresponsible behavior played out on TV and in the media.

Besides the financial demands of raising 19+ children how in the world does the couple have sufficient time to dedicate individually to each child? It is wrong to expect siblings to raise one another as I understand basically occurs in this family. Besides, who wants their mother to always be in a pregnant state??

Humans are not pack animals. They are not born in litters. This is totally irresponsible, selfish behavior on The Duggars’ part.

I totally agree….They don’t feel they HAVE control over their lives; God does! I find their thinking like that quite selective and narrow-minded. After all, does God also decide what car they drive, what color to paint a room, what will be on the grocery list, what time they take a bath, etc?? See, this kind of super selective ultra-Christian zeal is what turns people off to “religion” or “Christians”.
How is it that it’s OK to be reproducing like rabbits in a seriously overpopulated earth, especially when there are starving children in need. If they feel the need to nurture children, they shoulod pray to God to deliver unto them an unwanted child on their porch every year instead of selfishly breeding. How very selfish and UN-Christian of them to selfishly choose to pop out their own babies one after another while claiming God this God that? Did God also tell them to be TV stars and all cash in on beiong a public spectacle?
As a mother, a human, I still feel sorry that she had a miscarriage because that means a baby died and a family mourns. But yes, stop the madness, stop trying to “prove” something–you already have. Let it go and take care of the kids you have in front of you.

I agree with you 100%. I find the whole situation egotistical, attention-seeking and just plan creepy. I hope nothing happens to the father. How would she plan on taking care of this herd on one person’s salary if something should? The parents’ backup plan for such a situation should not be at the expense of the community or the taxpayers money.

Listen,
Most of you have NO IDEA what the family is about. You speculate based on what other people say or what you THINK might be the case. The truth is these two people spend more QUALITY time with their 19 kids than most parents do with the average 2.1 kids people have these days. How dare you lecture a family that:
1. Provides for their family – NEVER, even before their TV show, did they take any government money or use programs. Their income is based on Dad’s earnings in various profitable ventures including real estate.

2. Takes such good care of their kids – they spend quality time with their children and each is growing up strong and morally straight (no criminals, miscreants, or otherwise)

Maybe they are so assaulted because:
1. some of you feel guilty about your inability to raise your child well and cannot possibly deal with the thought of having 19

2. Their stance on birth control is strong and disagreeable to you (get over it, you are NOT their authority in ANY sense, nor do their decisions affect you in ANY way)

I suggest that next time you armchair experts want to share your opinion you educate yourselves about the matter. Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, and opinions should be respected. Be a good steward of that right and avoid ignorance.

The only opinion or response that anyone should have when someone loses a child is: “I’m sorry for their loss.” It is sick that we live in a world where just because a family decides to share their experiences with the world, the world responds by throwing stones, calling names, and being horribly critical. If one of our friends and family members experienced something like this, we would think of ways to show our sympathy and help the family grive, regardless of what we thought of the family’s lifestyle or personal choices. But, because we have such a thing as comment sections on websites, we can say whatever horrible thoughts come into our heads and blame it on the fact that the Duggars chose to have their lives taped. How can we teach our children to acceptance, and the pain that bullying causes, when we use the internet to vent our nasty thoughts about a family going through one of the worst things a family can go through! A second semester loss is emotionally and physically devastating for a woman, and Michelle has a long road ahead of her.

This lady really needs a dose of help. She is having babies like a circus freak show gone wrong.I wonder how many times she has actually thought out how this has affected her kids. I am a teacher and I am spread thin trying to give attention to a class of 20, cant even imagine a having the 20 all the time (i teach high school).
I agree its her right to have kids, I just wish she understood the repercussions of how its affecting the family unit. For example how will she provide attention to each of her children? I am guessing the older kids end up baby sitting (which there is nothing wrong with), but how often does the teenager end up becoming the parent (since mom is probably spread all over the place).

I feel bad for her, but seriously, her poor body is probably worn out!
God gives us free will…and that includes the freedom to abuse your body with baby after baby. Guess her poor uterus yelled UNCLE!
I think she’s being selfish…what will happen when, in her quest to pop out babies like a Pez dispenser, she dies? What will her little ones do for a mom then?
Just because YOU think you can have baby after baby, doesn’t mean you can..nor does it mean you SHOULD!

How about we not judge everyone else’s reproductive choices? I definitely would not want this many kids, but they provide for the ones they have and are generally raising them to be good citizens. That’s a whole lot better than a whole lot of people with only one or two.

Her choices are the business of her and her husband. Not the rest of us.

I respectfully disagree. Its one thing to say those are not my choices and I don’t agree with them (and I am definitely in that camp), and quite another to be so vitrolic and nasty about it the way most people are being. Whether or not one lives their life in the public sphere there is a point that I don’t believe it’s our business. And, personally, it’s at that point.

If they publicly announce their pregnancies, and their miscarriages, then they are making themselves available for comment. If they didn’t tell the entire world via press release, TV, etc, and let nature take its course, then I’d agree with you.
But I do agree with you on the ugly, horrible, nasty stuff people are spewing…you can bet like crazy there’s no way anyone would say that out loud to anyone’s face. We were discussing this very thing on cafemom.com. It’s easy to be so hateful when you have a screen name, an avatar, and an online identity to hide behind.

I see nothing wrong w/ them having more children. They raise them to be active citizens that give back to their community. It’s amazing to see a family unit work so well together. I think Michelle is a rare type that is blessed w/ an amazing ability to be kind and love all things. Kinda like mother Teresa.
What I find upsetting is how they have lost a child and many of the post I’ve seen have the to bad so sad attitude. No matter if it’s your first or your 20th child, a lose is difficult. It hurts the hole family, my heart goes out to them.

Helen, I find a whole lot of things a whole lot more irresponsible than having a lot of children and feeding, clothing, and raising them. Their choices are not my choices and I have all sorts of opinions about their religion, but there is no need to be nasty.

People can bicker, insult and whine all they want to about the Duggars and how many children they chose to have. But I admire them for the fact that they are raising their children without the help of government assistance. Their house is already paid for and they have a thriving real estate business on the side. I say Kudos to the Duggar family. They are truly blessed.

As for miscarriage I know from experience just how painful it is. I had one a few years ago; after getting married and moving from Florida to Texas. Carrying a child to term would have killed me. But, I know that although my child is not with me here on Earth I know that I will see her/him in glory one day.

To those who feel it is okay to call the Duggar family “freaks” I say the only freaks are the ones who sytarve, beat, drown and or kill their children; and even the ones who sell their precious children for drug money. They are true freaks.

While 19 is enough children, I’d rather these people populate the country with the children they can support and raise and not be a drain on taxes than welfare anchor babies. I’m so sorry she had a miscarriage, their heart is surly broken.

Yes, please, please, please turn off the baby machine. With so many orphans here and around the world, watching this couple makes me ill. With all that ‘love’ they could spread it to a child in real need. And she could keep adopting – even through menopause, which must be around the corner at her age.

I think after baby Josie nearly died and now she miscarries, I think they need to hear what God is saying: that is enough. She is jepordizing her health , as well as her unborn babies by constantly having babies, and well beyond the 40 year mark. The older children basically raise the younger ones, just stop- please; you have done your deed in repopulating the world. Your job is done.

I get tired of people always bashing this family. Do they live off of welfare? No. Do they drain the school system? No. This family appears to be very well adjusted and happy. They don’t expect handouts. They take care of their own. They support themselves and they are constantly VOLUNTEERING their time. Yes, our world is full of people – it’s just a shame it isn’t full of NICE people like the Duggers. Go bash the octomoms of this world instead.

The last baby made her so sick she could have died and the medical prediction was if she got pregnant again, which she did, she would probably not carry to term and if she did it would put her life in danger. What about the children she has, what has God told her about raising them? What are these adults(?) thinking?

sunflower, you hit the nail on the head.
These people aren’t “thinking”. They say they believe in a god, but then refuse to use the very faculties their god was supposed to imbued them with to make an intelligent, informed decision about childbearing.
These aren’t parents, they are breeders, who spend so much time breeding that their older children have to raise their younger children, and so no one gets to play except Mommy and Daddy.
Pretty pathetic, and worse so that they have a TV show.

Seriously? We make news about this? She has 19 kids and now 2 miscarriages. I have 2 healthy kids and FOUR miscarriages. There are people in this world with more pressing problems and this is news? Sorry, but stop this insanity and turn into a real mother. What they do not say is that the rest of the kids take care of all the other children in the family, using the “buddy” system. How fair is for a 6, 7, 8 year old to turn into an adult so early, so mommy can stay pregnant all the time? That part is “forgotten” by all the bleeding hearts of this world. Sorry, I cannot feel for this woman, and the idiot husband who keeps allowing it.

I am no fan of these people, but as someone else said, from my own personal experiences, I wouldn’t wish a miscarriage on anyone. It is devastating. I really worry about Michelle’s physical AND mental health with all these pregnancies. It seems her body/mother nature/god/whatever you want to call it, is trying to tell her something, but I doubt she’ll listen. I can only hope that she will just not be able to get pregnant again. I wish they could just be happy with the family they have, but if they just can’t, then they should adopt and/or foster. Again, I’m no fan of theirs, or their religion, but there are plenty of children out there who need love. And I’d certainly rather have those children raised by the Duggars than by some of these biological parents who end up murdering them.

Losing a baby is devastating, I know from experience. But c’mon! She’s had 19 kids and she’s 45 years old. Keep your legs together woman!!! No TV Show is worth that. Cancel the show, work & live like regular people and I’ll bet she’d be back on birth control immediately. The husband should at the very least have a vasectomy.

All those ppl saying terrible things..it doesn’t matter how many kids she has or does not have….nobody deserves to go through a miscarriage. It is a devastating experience & I wonder where the humanity is in some of the comments I am reading. My heart goes out to her & her family.

I do feel sorry for them, BUT I think it is our business because it it called overpopulation. It affects everyone and our future children. Also, if they didn’t want it to be our business they shouldn’t have created a television show.

I agree Godiva…They pay for their children not the tax payers. It is none of our business how many kids they have. My grandma is the baby of 11, my mom is the oldest of 9…some people just have a bunch of babies. It’s none of anyone elses business how many kids they have as long as the children are loved and taken care of and the family doesn’t live off welfare.

For all of those people who say that the Duggan family pays taxes and so on, if I remember correctly school taxes are based upon property not number of children. So they might end up sending all these kids to public school at the same price I pay for sending none. If they go to private school, okay; but if it’s public schools, then they are overburdening at least that part of society.

@joan: By that logic it is absolutely my business what soap you use, if you recycle, if you eat food from sustainable sources, or if you have a car with reasonable mileage. Afterall, YOUR choices and actions affect the environment and the future of all of us. Sounds absurd, doesn’t it?

@poboy: They homeschool. They’re paying more into the system than they’re getting, especially when you consider that several of their kids are volunteer first responders with the Tontitown Volunteer Fire Department.

Maybe now, instead of reproducing, they should try adopting unwanted children instead to grow their family. Maybe that’s the message God is sending.
I respect that they raise their children entirely on their own dime & do not need public assistance. They’re great entrepreneurs & lead a good example for their children. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they *need* to keep having more babies.
They could help the world around them in so many ways through adoption.

Listen,
Most of you have NO IDEA what the family is about. You speculate based on what other people say or what you THINK might be the case. The truth is these two people spend more QUALITY time with their 19 kids than most parents do with the average 2.1 kids people have these days. How dare you lecture a family that:
1. Provides for their family – NEVER, even before their TV show, did they take any government money or use programs. Their income is based on Dad’s earnings in various profitable ventures including real estate.

2. Takes such good care of their kids – they spend quality time with their children and each is growing up strong and morally straight (no criminals, miscreants, or otherwise)

Maybe they are so assaulted because:
1. some of you feel guilty about your inability to raise your child well and cannot possibly deal with the thought of having 19

2. Their stance on birth control is strong and disagreeable to you (get over it, you are NOT their authority in ANY sense, nor do their decisions affect you in ANY way)

I suggest that next time you armchair experts want to share your opinion you educate yourselves about the matter. Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, and opinions should be respected. Be a good steward of that right and avoid ignorance.

The righteous folks on here who say it must have been “God’s will” for Mrs. Duggar to lose her child are idiots and you are cruel beyond measure. The fact that she has other children — yes, even 19 of them — in no way means that this 20th baby was not loved or wanted or deserved to be born. That’s like saying to someone with two or three children who then loses one of them to, say, an accident, “It’s okay. At least you have the others. Maybe it was God’s will.”

How patronizing and presumptuous to presume you know the will of God or the heart of any mother!

And if a woman with only one or two children had a miscarriage, would those of you spouting this high and mighty crap still be inclined to say, “It was God’s will” ?

I doubt it.

Your real problem is the fact that the Duggars chose to have more children than the norm and that they are raising them to be good people. So far, I have seen no reports of any of those kids winding up on the street, whoring around or taking drugs. No, instead they take care of one another, study and work, and volunteer their time to help others.

Awful stuff, isn’t it?

Whether a mother has one child or 20, if that mother is true to her nature and heart, she loves and treasures each of those children as an individual being.

I have four of my own and if even one of them went missing or was killed, there would be a gap in my heart for a lifetime that none of the other three could fill. Why? Because each of my children is a unique being and each has a special, individual place in my heart, life and mind.

I’ve had three miscarriages and you bet I wish they’d all survived. I’d have a house of SEVEN children now and I’d love every one of them. Miscarriage at any stage can be devastating if you are wanting that child, and the Duggars obviously wanted all of theirs or they’d have artificially prevented births long ago.

Screw you if you don’t like their attitude. Their life is not yours and has no bearing on your choices.

Those of you so callous to spout out patronizing crap at a family who has done better with 19 kids than most do with one or two should be ashamed of yourselves.

Well I am not an armchair expert, nor am I lecturing anyone but 19 or 20 kids is just not the norm. Yes they have the right to have 100 children but most people commenting here that have 2.1 children understand the difficulties in having 20 children…… for the children, not the parents. Chances are good that several of these kids will feel left out or ignored when they need their parents guidance the most.

I’m sorry for the loss of the Duggar’s 20th child, but I really think it’s time to wear a condom/take bc pills/pull-out (you get the picture) … this time an unborn child passed away, but next time it could be Michell Duggar herself passing away from a complicated birth. With 19 kids, this woman needs to be around for a couple of more decades …

Are there any journalists left who bother to vet an article for scientific accuracy? She was supposed past 24 weeks pregnant, which makes this a stillbirth, not a miscarriage. Mrs. Duggar and the baby girl both almost died with the last pregnancy and now they have lost a child via intrauterine death. While I recognize their loss, perhaps they should really consider ending this pregnancy marathon.

A miscarriage is God saying “no more babies”? Seriously people, that’s pretty screwed up thinking. My mom’s first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. My sisters, brothers and I wouldn’t be here if she believed what y’all saying.

As for whoever said something about sending their kids to college- it is a young adult’s job to go to college if they so desire. Having parents pay for furthering your education is not their job, it is your job. If parents wish to help out, great- but again, it’s not their job.

Most of these responses are disgusting. They have lost a baby, people. Don’t say “I’m sorry but…” because that “but” just goes to show how truly not sorry you are.